You’re in a new job and don’t know anyone. How can you build a professional network that helps you succeed?

Building a strong professional network in a new job involves initiating conversations, attending events, joining professional groups, utilizing social media, seeking mentorship, and offering value. Set specific, measurable, realistic, and prioritized goals such as connecting with colleagues, attending networking events, and engaging on social media. Establish deadlines and regularly review and adjust your goals to ensure success in your career advancement and job performance.

1. Once your goals are set, you need to bring out market research skills into play. 2. Research your prospects on all the possible channels, start connecting with people from respective organizations on LinkedIn, industry events, groups. 3. Look for what they are doing and problems they are facing and what kind of value added solutions you may provide and create a hook based on that. 4. If possible find common interests among these people, use them along with a hook which becomes the ice breaker to start a conversation on a good note. 5. It's always better to go prepared where you have high chances of connecting genuinely with unknown people rather than being creepy.

Start by being genuinely curious about your new colleagues and their roles within the company. Volunteer for cross-departmental projects to showcase your skills and learn about other areas of the business. Attend company events and participate in relevant training sessions to meet people outside your immediate team. Join industry-specific groups or online forums to connect with professionals in your field. Remember, building a network is about quality, not just quantity. Focus on fostering meaningful connections by offering help and sharing knowledge, rather than just collecting contacts. This strategy not only expands your professional network but also enhances your visibility and credibility within your new job environment.

Attend conferences, workshops, and industry-specific events to meet professionals outside of your organization. These events provide opportunities to learn about industry trends, exchange ideas, and make new connections.

Another way is to ask your new contacts about their current and future plans or projects and offer to get involve in anyway possible. Ask them if they are after solutions and this way you can explore how you can assist.

In my experience first impression is really important. Please do dress well and appropriate for networking events, be friendly and approachable, introduce yourself and provide full attention and eye contact with the person you are speaking to.

Join professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn to connect with professionals in your industry, including colleagues, peers, and industry leaders. Engage with their content, participate in discussions, and reach out to connect or request informational interviews.

An example of maintaining contact with existing connections and new contacts is through a good strong CRM such as HubSpot which is available on desktop and HubSpot App to provide access to your database when you are out on the road. HubSpot eliminates the need to key in mobile numbers or email addresses to connect with anyone on your database. Its search function can bring up the profile of any person or organisation in your database, giving you immediate access to mobile contact, email, address and history of correspondence and contact.